'There was never any quit in him'

Friends of Cpl. Scott Severns remember his tenacity, instincts.

Friends of Cpl. Scott Severns remember his tenacity, instincts.

April 22, 2007|TOM MOOR Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND -- Cpl. Alan Delinski was getting ready for bed when he heard the news. "One of the officers' wives called me," he said. "She said, 'Be calm, but Scott's been shot.' "My heart dropped." The lifelong friend of Cpl. Scott Severns rushed to the hospital. Meanwhile, another close buddy of Severns', Sgt. Mark Szweda, was in the South Bend Police Department detectives bureau about to call it a day when the call came over the radio. "It was a shocking call," Szweda remembered last week: "Officer down." Szweda was one of the first officers to arrive at the parking lot near the intersection of Northside Boulevard and Clover Street on the night of April 21, 2006. There Szweda found Severns, a highly decorated South Bend police officer, clinging to life with multiple gunshot wounds. "I ran straight up to him to try and help," Szweda said. Severns, 36, was taken to Memorial Hospital in critical condition. He died two days later. Monday marks the one-year anniversary of Severns' passing. "It seems weird, strange that it's been a year," said Delinski, who visited Severns' grave site last week. "I was talking to some of the guys at work (Wednesday), and we couldn't believe it's been almost a year." "It doesn't seem like a year, it seems like right now," said Sgt. Bob Culp, another of Severns' close friends. Severns, who was off duty at the time, was reportedly walking a female friend home about 10:45 that night when two teenagers attempted to rob him at gunpoint. In an attempt to protect his friend, Severns reached for his own gun. The suspect shot at him, which prompted Severns to return fire, authorities said. Jeffrey L. Finley, 18, was hit twice, treated and later arrested. Mijell J. Redding, 19, pleaded guilty in January to a charge of felony attempted robbery. Redding admitted he drove Finley to and from the scene and later hid the gun allegedly used in the shooting. As part of the agreement, Redding must testify against Finley, who is scheduled for trial May 21. Time may ease some of the pain, but the memories of that tragic night linger in the minds -- and hearts -- of Severns' friends, as well as with many other South Bend officers. Lt. Scott Hanley says he'll never forget driving to the home of Severns' mother, Kathy Karczewski, to tell her the grim news. "She had seen it on the news but didn't know it was Scott yet," Hanley said. "When she saw me, she knew. "It wasn't easy." A dangerous job Four weeks ago, when Cpl. Kelly Waite was grazed in the head with a bullet, Szweda received a phone call. "I thought, 'This can't be happening again,'" he said. "When something like that happens, everyone finds out right away." Szweda said these incidents have been occurring far too often of late. Severns was the first South Bend officer killed since Cpl. Paul Deguch in 1997. Before Deguch, it had been 23 years since the fatal shooting of an officer in South Bend. Other officers in recent years have had close calls, too. "It happens more often now, definitely," Szweda said. "It's more dangerous than it used to be." "It seems like about every six months something serious happens," Hanley added. Those occurrences "hit home to officers," Szweda said, but you have to continue to do the job you were sworn to do. Even if the officer killed was one of your best friends. "There's no way to prepare for something like that," he said. "Is it easy? No. It never gets easier. But we have a job to do. We're told we're the first line of defense. We're what stands between total chaos erupting." 'One of the best' Delinski remembers many of Severns' good qualities: He was an excellent officer, never forgot a name and had great instincts. But Delinski also reminisces about the days they played in Chet Waggoner Little League together, the day Severns stood close by as a groomsman in Delinski's wedding, and the time he asked Severns to be the godfather to his son, Josh. Delinski, a member of the Metro Special Operations Section, said Severns put 100 percent -- whether it was school, baseball, golf and then police work -- into everything he did. "His work ethic, I can't stress that enough," said Delinski, who attended Dickinson Middle School and LaSalle High School with Severns. "If he wanted something, he studied and knew how to achieve it, even when it came to talking to girls. He had game with the ladies. "He worked his butt off. He was a machine." Especially on the police force, Delinski said, where he had moved into MSOS a few months earlier. He was also a member of the SWAT unit and was the department's 2004 officer of the year. "He was one of the best officers I knew," Szweda said. "A lot like his father. His father (Dennis Severns) was a good officer, too." Hanley, also a SWAT member, said Severns was often smiling and had a "goofy little laugh people always talked about." But when it was time to get down to business, Severns was game, he said. "He had such a tenacity for the job," Hanley said. "He never stopped. He was a big-time go-getter. He worked hard on everything, no matter how big the case was. There was never any quit in him." Staff writer Tom Moor: tmoor@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6187